Feel Again
by theAbderian
Summary: Adelaide O'Connell was taken by surprise when it all happened. She lost a lot without a chance to grieve and grew cold to cope. She wasn't living, but she was surviving. Enter Daryl Dixon - the man who will help her decide whether to continue this life or snuff it.
1. Chapter 1

It'd only been about a few months. Just a few stinking months and her entire life had been swallowed, shitted out, and trampled on repeatedly.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting on this tree branch 50 feet in the air, but the last thing Adelaide O'Connell felt like doing was climbing down. Her feet still ached from the late night running-from-corpses marathon she did not too long ago.

With her legs dangling above the ground, Adelaide closed her eyes for the first time a few days and buried her head in her hands.

* * *

_They'd just returned to their campsite, tugging a 12 point buck behind them when they heard the distinct sound of ripping flesh. Adelaide turned to her father, eyebrows furrowed in confusion – what is a bear eating their rations? He put his hand up to motion he was going forward, and to wait back here._

_She watched as her father stepped through the bushes, drawing his pistol as a precaution. He disappeared and left her antsy, unsure whether or not she should approach._

"_AGH!" That was all she needed to drop the antlers of the buck, draw her Hoyt Vector 32 compound bow ready and rush through the bushes after her father._

_The sight that met her eyes confused her. A malnourished female had latched her teeth into her father arm, pulled back and ripped the flesh right off the bone._

"_ADDY! Get back!" Her father screamed, reaching for his hunting knife. "Miss! Miss, if you don't stop immediately, I'll be forced to do this! Please, stop!" He shouted at her, trying to give the benefit of the doubt._

_The woman just swallowed and started digging her head forward for seconds. Her father didn't hesitate at the moment and slammed the blade into her skull, and she dropped like a fly._

"_Dad!" Adelaide ran forward, ripping off one of her long-sleeve layers to wrap around her fathers arm. "Dad, are you okay?" Tears started forming while she wrapped, she could see the amount of muscle and nerve damage that her father would sustain._

_He leaned back against a nearby tree, groaning all the while. "How bad is it, Dr. O'Connell?"_

_Adelaide looked up at him with concern, he was grinning at her. "Now's not the time to be joking dad! I need to get you to the truck, you're bleeding out!" She tugged the ends of the shirt tight as she tied it. Looking around, she grabbed her bow up, attached it to her bag and flipped the bag around to her front so she could carry her father._

"_Sometimes, I swear, Addy, you need to loosen up," her father choked out, his voice getting raspy and worn thin._

"_Come on, dad," she could tell he was losing blood fast. "Stay with me, promise me you won't faint. I'm almost there, look!" The shape of their black truck was coming up._

_She opened the passenger door and strapped her father in before climbing into the drivers seat. As she buckled her seatbelt, she noticed a man limping his way over to their vehicle. She almost opened her door again to ask him if he was alright when her father grasped her arm tightly._

_Adelaide looked at her father, his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, but his eyes were still lucid. "Don't." When Adelaide's eyes expressed confusion he said, "his eyes are the same as that woman's… vacant."_

_She looked up out of her window, just as the man had reached just in front of the driver's window. She stared at him quietly when without any notion, the man slammed his hands and face against the window, snarling and scratching at it._

_Adelaide screamed shortly while shoving the keys into ignition, and forcing her foot down on the gas, away and out of there._

_While on the road speeding to her work place – Emory University Hospital of Atlanta – and her father working up a fever, the gaunt purple faces of the man and woman flashed in Adelaide's head._

_"What the hell is going on?"_

* * *

Adelaide was running pretty much on empty when she finally leaned back against the tree trunk and closed her eyes just hoping for a couple of hours of rest without disturbance. She should've guessed that since the world went to shits, nothing was ever going to go her way ever again. Ever.

The very second her head had hit the wood, a familiar sound of an arrow hitting wood sounded in her right ear. The pointed tip of the arrow had sliced the top of her ear, causing Adelaide to cringe and grab in on instinct while pulling out her bow with her left hand.

She drew an arrow and pointed it in the direction she thought the arrow came from.

"Shit, the bastard was flyin' high," a male southern accent broke the silence. I saw the black boots of the man as he stopped just outside of my line of sights, a couple of trees blocking him. "Gonna have ta' climb up for that squirrel."

Squirrel? Adelaide turned her head right, where the arrow landed next to her head and saw a squirrel hanging by its eye socket. It was a clean kill, Adelaide admired.

Snapping out of it she turned her attention back to the boots and shouted when he began walking forward, "Don't move, or I'll shoot!"

The boots froze in place.

"Drop your weapon!" she repositioned her arms and stabilized her legs on the branch, trying not to fall off her bird's peak.

She saw a crossbow slowly being placed on the ground, and hands moving back up into her blind spot. "I ain't gonna hurt ya' or anythin', why don't ya' disarm too?"

His southern voice was deep, but put a chill down her spine. "Crap," she muttered under her breath, unsure of what she should do.

Suddenly, a large bird landed on the end of her branch, shaking it unnaturally hard. Adelaide began to lose her balance as the branch bounced up and down. Her hands we preoccupied with her bow when her body flipped over. She let out a loud yelp, but crossed her legs over the branch, barely hanging on to the branch.

Her bow slipped out of her grip as she focused on staying on the branch.

"Ugh," she tried to pull herself up by her abdomen, unfortunately the 3-hour gym sessions a week didn't do her abs any justice. Exasperated, she gave up after a couple of attempted pull-ups and hanged her head down.

A caucasian man covered in dirt and all the forest's treasure entered her view as she hung there like a stationary bat. 'Oh, gosh,' she began to think about the embarrassment of the situation.

He looked up at her, and she stopped breathing for just a second. His face may have been covered in grime, but it didn't do anything but enhance his southern attractiveness. His steel blue eyes cut into hers as a cocky smirk plastered itself onto his face.

"Got yerself a little caught up there?" He draped his crossbow over her shoulder and looked up at Adelaide with smugness.

All she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and cry, but it was a little hard since she'd probably snap her neck on the way down from her branch.

Adelaide shut her mouth and refused to do anything but watch as he picked up her Hoyt and examine it. "What kind of dumbass get's caught up in a tree like that?" He muttered.

She said nothing.

He said nothing.

They just stayed motionless, staring at each other back and forth for a couple of minutes.

Adelaide's legs began to ache; the muscles were getting taut from overworking them to keep their crossed position. She winced as she began to feel the burn.

The blue-eyed stranger seemed to notice, "Hey, look-"

Exhaustion caught up to her in a matter of seconds, she didn't have time to prepare or even notice that her body began to shut down. Adelaide's eyes fluttered shut as she knocked out. Her legs became undone and her body took a one-way flight towards the forest floor.

What she didn't notice during her catnap was that he'd picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She didn't notice that he didn't just loot her bags and leave her for dead like so many others would have done. And she didn't notice that he was taking her back to his camp.

What she did notice was her dream.

In her dream, a pair of blue eyes cut into her for hours, watching her intently. At first she felt uncomfortable, but then she started to relax. She felt like they were protecting her, watching over her. And she started to fall in love with those sharp blue eyes because they became the first comfort she felt in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ugh."

Sunlight was burning into her eyes when she woke up, painfully searing down on her skin leaving hot flesh. When she tried to block the sun from her eyes by rolling over, Adelaide ended up in a heap on a dirty carpet floor and a pounding headache.

Wait. Carpet?

She opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. It looked like one of those moveable living car thingers… What were they called? Oh yeah, RVs. What does that stand for? Roaming Vehicle?

Shaking her head, she pushed the silly thought out of her head and began to try and understand what happened to her. She had only just been hanging in a tree, up side down… Then she took a little bit of a 50-foot drop to the floor. Adelaide raised a hand up to her temple where her head throbbed angrily, feeling something wet. When she pulled away and looked at her hand it was covered in blood – most likely a battle wound from her little trip.

Looking around, it seemed she'd been holed up on the RVs makeshift couch by the table, and not even a foot away was a sink with a couple shiny pots that she could make out a rough reflection of herself on.

Her long chocolate brown hair was matted against her forehead, her bangs gross and sticking to her skin; her face was paler than it'd even been in her entire life; but her eyes… Her eyes were the worst part of everything she saw. The once vibrant gold-flecked emerald eyes she sported had dulled to a frosty green, the gold flecked completely fogged up. They were as dead as the world.

Adelaide couldn't control herself at that moment. Tears pooled up and spilled out – she was crying without a sound.

She could just hear her father proudly boasting about her eyes, about how he'd been the one that gave 'em to her. How they were a real treasure.

"_Look at her! Best eyes on this planet, I tell you!" _The familiar booming laughter that filled her ears only brought a more intense onslaught of tears.

She crawled back onto the makeshift couch, and stuffed herself between the table and the backing of the seat. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she let the tears flow, but never did she choke out a sob.

Her eyes were the most precious gift she'd ever gotten from her father – Adelaide truly believed this. They were as much her treasure as they were her father's pride. And just look. Just look. She'd ruined them.

At that time, Adelaide couldn't give a rat's ass if someone – something – walked in and took her life..

It was as if she could feel something inside of her literally withering up and dying.

She was just drying up inside.

* * *

After what felt like half a lifetime, she pulled herself out of her corner of safety and sat at the edge of the seat, trying to think about what had happened to her. There were some dark spots in her memory, all she could see in her head was the fall to earth… And those steely blue eyes. Those eyes!

From those eyes, everything just came pouring back to her. The squirrel, the boots, and that damned bird. But most of all, the man. Just who was he?

The door to the RV creaked open with a slight protest of age, causing Adelaide to become swiftly alert and reach for a pot as a weapon.

In walked an older man with a snow-white beard, an unattractive hat, and the most hideous shirt she'd ever seen.

He looked surprised to see her and raised his hands up in innocence as he approached, "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. You can put that down now." His voice was calming to her, like a grandfather with wise advice. A part of her trusted the man, but the other part screamed at her to never trust another human being again.

She couldn't afford to be duped by false kindness.

Adelaide's fingers only tightened around the pot handle in anticipation.

The man seemed to notice, "You can trust me. I promise that I won't hurt you." He stopped moving forward, knowing that she'd only get more defensive if he got too close. "My name is Dale, Dale Horvath. This is my RV," he paused to see if she was listening. She was. "You're at a camp where other refugees are, at the edge of Atlanta City."

Adelaide processed this slowly. She was in a camp, next to Atlanta, in some man's RV… How the hell did she get there?

"One of our men found and brought you here." It was like he read her mind.

She remembered the blue-eyed stranger at the foot of her so-called 'safe tree'. Some tree it turned out to be.

Adelaide turned her attention to Dale, looking him point-blank in the eyes. She searched for any ill intentions, not that she was a psychic but sometimes you could feel something when people are a little off. It's human nature to feel scared in situations where you are in danger.

But, Adelaide didn't feel anything like that from Dale. From what she could tell, he was a nice guy. She felt that he was a genuinely kind person. She just didn't know how right she was.

The pot came down from the air and settled onto the table.

"I'm… Adelaide," she could barely put that out in a whisper. It was like she hadn't spoken in years, even though she'd just yelled at the blue-eyed stranger not too long ago.

This environment was strange to her, she didn't know what she should do.

"Hello, Adelaide. It's nice you meet you," he greeted warmly before taking a step forward, "Is it a okay?" She knew what he was referring to, was she okay with him getting close to her? Yes, she was. Adelaide nodded her head and Dale walked slowly toward her, stopping just in front of the table, and knelt down.

His old hands touched her temples, "The bandage is soaked… Did you knock your head around again?" She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows so he told her, "When you took a mighty drop from a tree, you split the side of you head wide open. I tried patching you up with some gauze from my first-aid kit but… It's not holding up so well."

The medical instinct in Adelaide stirred, of course no piece of gauze was going to hold an open wound shut if it was big enough. From what she could tell, she needed to stitch herself up.

"May I see your kit?" Her unnaturally soft voice spoke again. It just wasn't right, the way her voice couldn't project itself. She felt so off.

Dale gave her a weird look, but yielded to her. He brought out a white box with a red cross from one of his cabinets in the RV.

The box was so familiar to her when she was training as an EMT back in the day. Somewhere in her bags, God knows where they are, she had her old EMT bag filled with medical supplies, but she wouldn't dare say anything about that right now.

Inside she found a suture needle and thread along with a lighter. "Do you have a mirror?" Dale grabbed one from the side, and placed the stand-up mirror in front of her. Right now he wasn't questioning her because it looked like she knew what she was doing.

Adelaide flicked the lighter on and heated the suture needle until it was red hot. She took a good look at her open wound after pulling off the red-soaked gauze. The split wasn't as bad as it could have been, there was no puss or infection, it was as red and wet with blood as it should have been when she got it – probably because she had recently fell on it and opened it right up.

Without a flinch or cringe, she began sewing her head back up with precision and expertise. A year in the ER had done her good.

"You seem to know what you're doing there," Dale commented. Adelaide could tell, though, he wanted to know some of her background and this was an easy-access route.

"I was still completing my residency when it happened."

"What were you aiming for?"

"Trauma."

Adelaide's answers were becoming increasingly laconic, but she couldn't help it herself if she wanted to. The little part that was opening up to Dale was quickly shutting down.

Dale stopped asking personal questions. Pushing her too much too soon would only close the opening faster. He watched her finish and cover the stitches with gauze and a large waterproof band-aide.

"Adelaide," Dale started. "Would you like to come out and meet the rest of the group?"

She looked up uncertainly at him.

"They've been waiting to meet you, you've been out for about a day, you know." He smiled at her with white teeth, something you don't commonly see these days. "And, if you're looking for you bags, they're with the man that brought you in."

That perked her interest.

"That man that brought me in?" Her whisper came out again, scratchy now from dehydration.

"Oh!" Dale turned around and grabbed a cup and a pitcher of water, "It isn't cold or anything, but it's clean."

Adelaide nodded her thanks and lifted the cup to lips after inspecting the contents, but looked up expectantly at Dale for an answer.

He was a surprising man; it was like he could just keep reading her mind without a problem.

" His name is Daryl."

* * *

She stepped out of the RV with a little assistance from Dale. The feeling of sun on her shoulders was a lot more comforting than it shining in her eyes. If she had been more like herself pre-apocalypse, she probably would have spun around in the sun. She used to like to do that.

She used to like to do a lot of things.

"Hey there," a pretty blonde girl called out to her.

Adelaide looked at her and smiled slightly, "Hi…"

A group of people were all sitting around an unlit fire pit, chatting until not too long before she had stepped out.

Dale led her over to the fire pit and introduced her one by one.

"That's Glenn, Jacqui, T-Dog, Jim, Andrea, Amy, Lori, her son Carl, Shane, Morales and his family, Ed, his wife Carol, and his daughter Sophia," Dale pointed out each one. Amy was the pretty blonde that had said hi to her so nicely.

The man named Shane stood up and held out his hand to me, "Shane, it's nice to meet you."

Adelaide stared at the hand for a few seconds before tentatively grasping it, "Adelaide. Thank you… for allowing me to be here."

Shane nervously chuckled a bit, "I'll admit that I was pretty pissed when Daryl brought you back, but it doesn't seem like you'll be a problem to us." He looked her over and only saw a lone girl that'd barely made it through all that's happened.

She looked up and around, wondering who and where this so-called 'Daryl' was.

Dale put a hand on her shoulder, "He's out hunting. Don't worry."

Adelaide shrugged his hand off, disliking the feeling of being touched without her approval. She walked over to whom she believed to be Amy and Andrea and asked, "May I sit here?"

Amy smiled brightly at her, "Of course!"

Andrea smiled at her sister first, before smiling at Adelaide, "It's a pleasure."

Adelaide sat between Amy and an Asian boy she recognized as Glenn. At first she just watched and listened as the group settled back into conversation. Then she began softly laughing when they teased each other and told stories of their past.

They didn't mind that she was there, and she didn't mind being around people. It seemed like she hadn't seen real people in years, and she meant _real_ people. Although she didn't completely trust them, she felt safer with them than she did with all the others she'd come across.

Adelaide shivered at the bad memories, but quickly got her mind off of them.

"Hey, want some?" Glenn offered her some jerky.

She cautiously gazed at it before taking it and offering him a soft 'Thanks'.

"So, Adelaide, where're you from?" Glenn smiled widely at her.

"Atlanta," she mumbled while nibbling at the rock solid jerky.

"Seems like we got ourselves a doctor here," Dale commented.

The group seemed taken aback before she said, "I didn't finish my residency, so…"

"That don't matter," Shane said firmly. "Now, I'm real glad Daryl found you, we need someone like you around."

The group all nodded their heads, and stared expectantly at Adelaide.

"It'd be a real honor to have you with us," Shane went on and the rest of them verbally agreed.

Under all the looks she was receiving, Adelaide was getting uncomfortable. She could feel a bead of sweat run down her temple, and it wasn't from the hot Atlanta sun, that's for sure. The idea of people counting on her and travelling with others wasn't as appealing as you'd think it'd be. She was so used to being on her own, and the majority of her meetings with other people hadn't turned out so swell up 'til now.

She just couldn't palate the thought right now.

"I… I don't know," her head cast down. "I'd have to think about it…"

"_Why don'tcha travel with us fer a lil' bit, honey?"_

"_Trust me, we'll take real good care 'ya."_

_Their clammy arms slinked around her shoulders, pulling her toward their tent little by little. And with every step she took, she felt more insecurity. More anxiety._

_It didn't take her much longer to experience why._

"H-Hey!" Glenn was shaking her by her shoulders when she snapped to it and slammed her hands against his chest. Glenn was thrown back a couple feet onto his ass, staring up at her in shock.

She hadn't noticed that she'd been shaking in fear with a ghastly white face. The group was staring at her, some in apprehension and a couple with concern.

Adelaide knew she'd just scared the shit out of them.

There was something wrong with her, and now they all knew it.

"Well lookie 'ere. We got ourselves a lil' spitfire, don't we?" A deep southern voice boomed behind her, laughing loudly. "Pushed the lil' Asian boy right down on 'is tiny motherfuckin' ass!"

She turned around and saw two rednecks. One of them was slapping his knee in amusement, like he got almost too much enjoyment out of what'd happened. The other was staring right at her, into her eyes.

He was staring at her with steel blue eyes.

That blue-eyed stranger.


	3. Chapter 3

"Well, hello lil' lady," his voice drawled on each word.

He had a rough shaven head, or was he bald? – Adelaide couldn't tell. What she could tell was that he was bad for her, for anyone and everyone.

Adelaide turned her attentions to Glenn, the poor boy she'd unintentionally knocked over. She stretched out her hand toward him and watched as he flinched just a little bit.

That hurt.

But what could she do? She deserved it.

Still, Glenn took her hand and hoisted himself up, murmuring a soft 'Thanks' in her direction as he retreated from her and the rednecks that everyone seemed to be offset about.

The rude, talkative one circled around to her front and said, "The name's Merle, lil' lady. You best remember it for tonight." He winked suggestively, and Adelaide could feel a bit of vomit reach the back of her throat.

Gross.

Adelaide would much rather turn around and speak to the other one. The one she deduced to be Daryl. While tuning out the lewd ramblings of 'Merle', Adelaide worked up the courage to turn around and speak to Daryl. But just when she was about to whip around, she saw him walking past the fire pit area and into a tent on the edge of the campsite. He was gone, just like that.

Feeling dismayed, Adelaide got up and walked past Merle, not giving him any attention, and into the RV.

She could hear incoherent hillbilly swearing as she walked into the RV but paid no mind as she sat down on the seat next to the table.

Adelaide just sat there for a while. Her back straight and her hands folded neatly in her lap. She could have been the most perfect image of a 'lady' at the moment, proper manners and everything.

But she was far from that.

In an instant, her poise crumbled and she sunk her head into her arms on the table, groaning in frustration all the while.

She'd just freaked out a (so far) nice group of people who'd offered her food and shelter. And she knocked one of them over without any legitimate reason. This was just turning worse to worse.

God. She hated herself.

Being so absorbed in her inner emotions, she didn't notice Dale come in the RV.

"Hey, are you alright?" His kind voice shattered her inner state and jerked her into an upright position.

"Y-Yeah…" Her voice was back to normal now, no longer scratchy or soft.

Dale looked at her in this way that made her think twice.

"Well… no," she admitted and hung her head in shame of the day's events.

Dale sat down across from her, and slowly took her hands in his. Adelaide watched it happen, and for some reason she didn't mind. She could feel herself relax with Dale, and it confused her. Why?

"I can tell," he started, "That you haven't had all daisy experiences up until now."

The way he stared into her eyes unsettled her, it reminded her how horrible of a physical state she was in. But she didn't look away.

"I want you to know that there isn't any pressure to stay with us, but we can offer you something that you can't have alone… A family." He chuckled at this, "Now, I know it isn't a totally functional family, but we look out for each other here. We watch each other's backs and we make sure we're all safe."

Adelaide now hung her head a little as she absorbed what he was telling her.

"It's not much, but it's something," Dale said softly. "And I hope that, if you decide to stay with us, your wounds will heal someday. Slowly, but surely."

Adelaide rose her head and looked back into Dale's eyes with more conviction.

"I've been hurt."

"I know."

"I'm not normal, probably defective."

"That's alright."

"I'm scared."

"We all are, but we're here for each other. We can be there for you."

Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill, blurring her vision. She was about to confess something that she hadn't thought about for months – not if she wanted to stay alive.

"I don't want to be alone."

That was it, the tears didn't hold back.

Dale squeezed her hands tighter, "You won't be."

And then she realized why she felt relaxed with Dale: he emulated her father in every way. The way he could pep talk her back up and just completely understand without asking questions. Everything about him was strikingly like her father.

In her despair – or was it the first feeling of ease? – Adelaide failed to notice a gathering at the RV's door.

Amy, Andrea, Glenn, Carl, and Lori were peering into the RV and just taking in her state. They didn't feel bewildered, but rather understanding toward her.

Surely, she wasn't a bad person.

And they were right.

She just hadn't proved it yet.

* * *

There she stood, eye dry and mind ready, in front of Daryl's tent. Dale had directed her to it, and she recognized it as the one he sauntered off to while Merle was harassing her.

Clearing her throat, she worked out a "Hello?" and waited nervously.

This was the man whose eyes had haunted her all of last night, why wouldn't she be nervous?

"What?" A deep gruff voice resonated from within the tent – the same voice that had taunted her as she hung from that darned tree. A memory of her hate for that damned bird quickly passed through and disappeared from her mind.

Her voice was failing her; she couldn't work up an answer and it was frustrating her.

Turns out, her failure to answer didn't just frustrate her, but also the other party.

Abruptly, the zipper to the tent was undone and out came the blue-eyed stranger – or well, Daryl – out came Daryl.

He stared at her hard before yelling, "The hell you want, girl?"

She was stuck in awe at first, his eyes were never as bright as they were now – maybe because it was getting dark when she first saw him – either way, they struck her.

He had light brown hair, slightly long but it gave him a rough look. Despite her social awkwardness, Adelaide had to admit that he was attractive.

"I asked you a question!" His southern accent was heavy, putting emphasis on certain parts of words.

She snapped to reality and forced out, "I was told you have my bags!" It came out more fast than she'd like – nervous, but that's exactly what she was.

He looked her once over, "Yer that dumbass that fell outta the tree." That was all he said before he went into his tent and came out with her pack and weapons.

Daryl threw her bag at her roughly but didn't offer her weapons.

Adelaide swung her bag onto her shoulders and looked expectantly at him.

"Are you going to hand them over?" A little irritation started up in her voice, she'd been itching for her weapons all day.

He glanced at her and then her bow, .308, and knife belt. "Packin' some heat fer a girl," that was meant to be condescending, she could tell.

"That ain't your business now is it?!" That last comment had ticked her off, she marched right up to him and ripped her weapons from his hands – well, she tried.

She ended up with nothing as Daryl lifted everything above his head, far away from what her 5'4" height could reach.

She'd been waiting for her weapons all day, they were the root of all her feelings of safety, the only things that had stayed constant to her since the outbreak. Being separated from them was upsetting, and when games were being played with them something in her snapped. A very emotionally stable twig of her mind just cracked under Daryl's play.

"The fuck is your problem?!" She screamed at him.

Yes, screamed. It seemed as though the only person that could get her to project that much of her voice was Daryl. And, no for your information, it didn't make her feel any better that she was expressing emotion. It just pissed her off.

Daryl cracked a smirk at her – he was playing games! And he was getting a kick out of her reactions.

"It's nice to hear that voice o' yers again," he taunted her. "This time, you ain't got nothin' pointed at my head, do ya'?"

Oh, she was seething inside. She didn't feel appreciation that he'd picked her up and saved her life, she only felt like delivering a clean kick straight to his nether regions. She could just imagine bathing in that cruel satisfaction because this man was just irking her. Badly.

Dropping her bag, she jumped for her belongings, only to grab air… and right smack into the redneck himself.

They landed with a solid thump on the ground, Adelaide sitting right on his stomach, but she paid it no mind. Her first instinct was to grab her weapons, and so she did. As soon as she had them in hand, she was out of there, leaving behind a shocked redneck.

"The damn girl just pounced like a feral cat," he grumbled as he stood up, but he couldn't hide a bit of embarrassment from his face.

Meanwhile, Adelaide had already made it back to the RV, inwardly skipping in the joy of having her babies back. The things that helped her provide and most of all protect herself.

She had been only centimeters away from his face when she had leaned over to grab her items from him. She saw the grime that had tattooed itself to his face and body, giving him an attractively coarse look that Adelaide had to admit she appreciated. But what stuck with her the most was the intensity of his eyes.

They were almost feline and incredibly blue; and…

Adelaide's eyes widened as she plopped herself onto a seat in the RV. What in the world was she thinking?

Shaking the thoughts out her head she realized Dale was in the RV with a couple of others.

"Hey there," Amy greeted, smiling as brightly as she did just a few hours before. As if nothing that happened bothered her.

"Hi," Adelaide replied with a small curve of her lips – the best she could manage.

Glenn and Andrea popped into her vision and waved at her with smiles. Adelaide gave them the same small smile but wondered why they were being so nice to her after she shoved Glenn over.

"Listen, I'm real sorry about-"

"It's no problem," Glenn interjected. "I understand that not everyone likes to be touched or shaken around like that." He was laughing lightly trying to lighten up the mood.

Adelaide felt relieved inside; they weren't shunning her.

Andrea and Amy began chatting happily. Glenn joined in with Dale. Soon enough they were bringing her in smoothly.

She didn't have to talk, and they didn't mind, they still made her feel welcome.

Maybe she was becoming a part of something.

Maybe. Just, maybe.


	4. Chapter 4

**A big thanks goes to all the reviewers (: Sorry for the long wait, finals came up and whipped me... But I passed! Whoop! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all of you! **

**Thank you so much for reading!**

* * *

The day before, Andrea and a couple of others went out to the city to gather rations, but hadn't come home. During that time, Adelaide stuck with Amy. Amy who was hurting a lot, worrying about her sister and why Shane wouldn't go. But, Adelaide understood that Shane wouldn't compromise the safety of the whole for the few – even though it frustrated her to no end.

Andrea and Amy had turned into her two best friends. They took her in and made her feel welcome; it was like a sleepover almost every night! Except last night. All the while, Adelaide steered clear of the Dixon brothers and kept close to the girls.

They were mushroom hunting and turning up stones and hedges for something edible when Amy broke out conversation.

"So, where're you from?" Amy glanced at Adelaide.

She was flipping over a stone and found potato bugs when she replied, "Atlanta, outskirts really though. It was just me and my dad."

Thinking about him hurt a lot, she had to watch him as he… And she didn't even know what to do. Amy saw her hands trembling a little as she gripped rocks and dirt.

Amy grabbed Adelaide's hand, "I don't mean to pry or anything, but sometimes it makes you feel better when you talk about these things." The sincere concern in Amy's eyes rattled something in Adelaide.

She didn't want to talk about those things because it made her remember. And when she did remember, it hurt. She just didn't want to remember anymore, she didn't want to have those memories. But it wasn't something she could be selective about – the way of life and all that crap.

Adelaide grimaced and began smoothing her hands over the dirt again, out of Amy's hand. Amy understood and went back to their mushroom business again, even though something in the back of her mind she wanted to help Adelaide.

They were plopping mushrooms into the red bucket when out of nowhere, "He used to call me Addy."

Amy's hands stopped moving. She turned her attention to Adelaide and saw a small tear move down her the side of her face.

Adelaide hugged her knees in their squatted position and looked to Amy at her side. She gave Amy one of the most pained smiles Amy had ever seen.

"I had to watch him turn, we were out hunting, and I'd just caught a 12 point buck!" Adelaide's eyes were shining, "Biggest one to date, dad was so proud of me!" She let a gurgled laugh out, her throat choked up with tears. "And then were going back to camp…"

Amy saw her eyes darken, almost like black endless pits.

"There was a sound, and we thought it was a bear or something… so he went… and then…" Tears were spilling already as she recalled it, "If only I didn't let him go! We should have just gone straight to the truck! I mean a bear! What could we have done with a bear that close… We should have left, I should have made him leave with me!"

Amy wrapped her arms around Adelaide's body, "Shh, shh… It's okay. It wasn't your fault. You know it wasn't your fault; you couldn't have done anything. You didn't know and none of it was your fault."

It went like this for a minute. Amy's murmuring seemed to calm Adelaide's mind and her sobbing dissipated.

She had never felt so safe since...

Until they heard a distinctive snap of a twig behind them, too close behind them.

Adelaide whipped out the hunting knife she stored in her boot and spun around, armed and ready, only to find Daryl fucking-Dixon.

"The hell ya doin' here? Geeks woulda been onto ya in no time," he scowled at them.

"Were just gathering some mushrooms, Daryl," Amy said. "You don't need to be so snarky about it."

Amy grabbed what mushrooms she could in her area and dumped them into the red bucket as Adelaide pocketed the knife.

Daryl just stood there and watched.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Adelaide sneered at him, recalling how much she disliked him.

He eyed her and grunted, "Goin' out huntin' is all." With that he shoved past the two girls and marched deeper into the woods.

She was watching him every moment as his back disappeared into the trees, crossbow and all.

"Done ogling at him?" Amy smirked at Adelaide.

Her face turned beet red, "I was not ogling!"

"Says you!" Amy chortled and grabbed her wrist, dragging her back in the direction of the camp.

They were walking in silence, Amy's hand still on her wrist when Amy asked, "Can I call you Addy, too?"

Adelaide was surprised, but pleasantly so, "Yeah." She smiled softly at the ground.

"Okay, Addy!" Amy grinned brightly at her.

Adelaide grabbed Amy's hand back and they walked hand-in-hand all the way to the camp like best friends in middle school. It was safe to say that to Adelaide, Amy was her best friend. Someone so bright and happy gave her some light in the dark cave she shoved herself into. It gave her something to look forward to. So yes, Amy was the best thing that happened to her – she was her best friend.

When Amy and Adelaide got back to camp, Amy seemed to remember that Andrea was gone – out on a ration-run and hadn't come back last night. She returned to a depressed state.

Adelaide gripped Amy's hand tighter and they walked over to Lori with the bucket of mushrooms.

"How'd you do?" Lori asked. Amy passed her the bucket.

"How do you even know if they're safe?" She asked instead.

Lori picked up a couple and cleaned the tops, "There's only one way to really know."

Amy and Adelaide looked at each other and cocked their heads to the side.

"I'm going to head out," Lori called bringing the bucket with her. Dale gave her the mom-speech before she walked off into the woods.

Adelaide and Amy hung around the fire pit, cleaning mushrooms and making small chat with each other when Carl popped up.

"Can I help?"

Adelaide looked at him, he was a cute boy with freckles, and something about him reminded her of the kids at the hospital she visited on occasion. She nodded and he sat himself down with the girls.

It didn't take long for them to finish cleaning the mushrooms but it took Lori quite a while to return with only a few mushrooms.

"Sorry, didn't help much," Lori apologized. The two girls just nodded and cleaned those mushrooms too as Lori sat down with Carl and brought out a pair of scissors, much to Carl's annoyance.

"Ey, Carl, just let your mom do her thing," Shane advised as he sat at the fire pit with them. He started making small talk about catching frogs and such with Carl while Amy and Adelaide both made faces at the thought of eating one. Shane just laughed and said how much they'd be loving frog legs.

The five of them laughed and had good conversation with each other but Adelaide noticed that Amy's worry for Andrea just grew and grew with each passing moment.

"Hey," Adelaide patted Amy's back. "Don't you worry, she's strong."

Amy smiled at Adelaide, "Thanks, Addy."

Carl perked up, "Addy?"

He gazed oddly at Adelaide, "It's like a nickname, Carl." She smiled at him.

"Can I call you Addy, too?" Carl asked, "Your name is just so long!"

The elders started laughing again while Carl looked confused.

"Yeah, you can call me Addy, Carl," Adelaide grinned and Carl grinned right back.

It wasn't even a minute after that when the whole camp heard a distant beeping – like an alarm.

Everyone got up and walked over to Dale's RV and wondered what it was.

"What is it, Dale?" Shane was concerned.

"I don't know…" He stared at the road through his binoculars.

"Could it be them?" Amy was suddenly very alert.

The sound got louder and louder when a red mustang pulled itself up the road, beeping up a storm. Out came Glenn with the biggest smile plastered all over his face.

That smile soon disappeared when Dale started snapping about the alarm, Shane yelling to pop the hood, and Amy attacking him about Andrea's whereabouts.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Glenn shouted back at all of them. He popped the hood and Jim pulled the battery.

"If she's safe, then where is she? Why isn't she with you?" Amy continued.

Adelaide could only stand on the side and be a bystander, watching it this all unfolded around her.

The next thing they know, a moving truck pulled up the road behind the mustang and out of it came Andrea. Amy was there in one second flat, embracing her sister, and just being glad she came back unharmed.

It was rattling, you know. Letting people go somewhere you can't see, somewhere you can't protect them. It was scary for Adelaide too – now that she'd found people to care about.

Adelaide walked up to Andrea and joined in on the sisterly hug, smiling and feeling relieved that Andrea had come home safe.

Then she heard Glenn and Morales.

"It's all thanks to the new guy!" Glenn smiled.

"New guy?"

"Yeah, hey, helicopter boy, come say hello!" Morales called out at the truck.

While hugging Andrea and Amy, Adelaide peeked her head out over theirs to see who they were talking about.

A man in a sheriff's outfit was walking toward them slowly, his head slightly down cast until he lifted it and looked straight at Shane.

Shane's face changed ever so slightly, a bit of relief taking over him and surprise – a lot of surprise. 'Helicopter boy' took his attentions to Carl and Lori, and something in him just let go. Just by watching him, Adelaide could see exactly who he was in their life.

"Dad!" Carl screamed as he ran towards him. "Dad!"

Lori followed in suit, hugging him and her son tightly.

It was a heart-jerking reunion, and had Adelaide had more of her heart… maybe she'd have cried, too. Instead she took her relief in with Andrea just happy that one of her friends was home.

It wasn't until nighttime when everyone was gathered around the fire pits, warming up, that a serious conversation struck up.

"So what do we do about Merle?"

Adelaide looked around at the two campfires and noticed that, as sure as hell, Merle Dixon was nowhere to be seen. He had left with the group the day before…

The men of the group began discussing it, talking about Daryl and how they should break it to him – or lie to him. Andrea defended the stranger, who was introduced as Rick Grimes, affirming that what he had done in Atlanta was the right thing to protect the rest of them.

"You could lie," Amy offered.

"No, you tell the truth," Andrea corrected. "Merle was out of control. Your husband did the right thing – he would have gotten us all killed."

"But, can't tell that the Daryl," Adelaide spoke. The group turned their attention on her – she didn't speak much but to Dale and the sisters. "That's family… Losing family… That hurts the most." She grimaced at her memories.

Dale nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "She's right. You can't just tell Daryl you left him there."

T-Dog began owing up to it when he explained that he padlocked the door to the roof they left Merle on.

"That has to count for something," Adelaide said, looking at T-Dog with understanding. He glanced appreciatively at her.

"Look, I think we should get to bed," Andrea hugged Amy and began getting up.

Amy grabbed Adelaide's hand and began dragging her to their tent. "Let's get a move on, Addy!"

"Addy?" Dale asked.

Adelaide looked back at Dale, "It's a trend." She tried her best smile and Dale chuckled a little.

That night Adelaide slept well, knowing her two best friends were with her.

But things don't last forever in a world as messed up as this.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm on a writing streak, I actually had to wait a day before I published because I thought it might be too soon. Thank you Leyshla Gisel and FanFicGirl10 for always leaving such nice reviews for me to read! They make me feel motivated to continue!**

**Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy (:**

* * *

Everyone was washing clothes that morning. Carol had kindly washed Rick's clothes, Lori and the sisters were hanging up laundry, and Adelaide just stood there dumbfounded and confused.

She felt so out of place that she stood awkwardly on the side trying to think about what she should do. Deep in her thoughts, she didn't notice Rick creep up behind – unintentionally of course.

He tapped her on the shoulder and caused her to jump a foot forward.

"Uh, sorry," Rick scratched the back of his head. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, I'm usually like that…" She interrupted softly and tried to inch herself closer to the sisters. She still didn't feel all too comfortable talking to many people, and especially not strangers.

"I'm just trying to familiarize myself with the camp," Rick offered his hand. "Rick Grimes."

She couldn't escape now without being a bitch so she tentatively shook his hand. "Adelaide O'Connell."

"Shane told me you're a doctor?" He asked politely.

"Ah, I never did finish residency…" She began to formulate quick endings to their conversation. "So not legally, no." She glanced at the sisters, "I really should go help out, now. It was nice meeting you… Rick."

Adelaide was off towards Amy and Andrea in a jiffy.

Amy smiled at her when she arrived, "I saw that! You really should try to talk to others more. People want to be friend, you know."

Adelaide looked at her feet awkwardly, "I know… but its difficult still."

Andrea wrapped her arms around Adelaide's shoulders, "Don't force her, Amy! Besides, I like having Addy all to ourselves." She squeezed her and the girls giggled.

"How can I help?" Adelaide grabbed a damp shirt.

"Just hanging," Amy swiftly had five shirts evenly spaced on the makeshift line.

Adelaide, in all her feminine glory, tried to drape the shirt on the wood only to have it slide off. If she didn't have reflexes it would have been spotted brown in the dirt. "Uh… how?"

Andrea and Amy stared blankly at her before laughing. The sisters enjoyed a good laugh at Adelaide quite often. "Have you never done laundry before or something?"

"Ah… Between my dad and I… he did the laundry and I cooked," she rubbed the back of her head nervously.

The girls were already in mid-laughter when everyone heard the screams and cries of Carl and Sophia. Instantly the adults had weapons at hand and were darting into the woods towards the sound of the children.

"Carl! Carl!" Lori's screams were the loudest.

The three of the girls ran into the woods in suit, finding Sophia and Carl in their mother's arms and one of them diving barehanded into a deer.

When they approached, the first thing Adelaide noticed were the bright colored arrows that she saw Daryl leave with the other morning.

'That's his catch, he should be…' Adelaide pondered, wondering where Daryl Dixon could be at that moment.

The men began beating that thing until Dale chopped its head clean off with an axe.

"They never came up the mountain this far…" Dale said in great disbelief that it could get so close to the camp.

Jim sighed, "They're running out of food in the city, that's what."

They group seemed to relax slightly when the branches and bushed in the woods began to ruffle. Shane prepared his rifle and the rest of the men lifted their weapons over their shoulders.

The suspense seemed unbearable; it'd be horrifying to find more of those things near their camp. The rustling got closer until out emerged… Daryl Dixon.

"Son of a bitch!" He exclaimed in that gruff southern accent as soon as he laid eyes on his desiccated deer. He began sputtering profanities at the headless body, and slamming his foot into its side.

When Dale tried to get him to stop he just attacked Dale with more vulgar talk. "Why don't you take your-"

"Daryl!" Adelaide stepped forward. "Why don't you calm down?" He glanced at her before turning back to the deer with a 'Whatever.'

"You think we could cut around this chewed up part over here?" He asked. At that Adelaide turned around and headed back towards the RV and the laundry she couldn't hang on a stick for her life. It wasn't long before Daryl emerged from the woods screaming for Merle about squirrels and such.

Adelaide looked up from the damp clothes and gave a concerned look in his direction. He caught it and walked up to her, "What's with that face, huh?"

His steel-cold blue eyes cut into her dull green ones.

They unnerved her, made her feel like she wanted to run away, go somewhere else because they told her that this man was a fighter. Just the type of person she wanted to steer clear of because ever since it all began she became the type to look for a reason to give up.

"Daryl, we need to talk," Shane grabbed Daryl's shoulder.

Daryl broke the gaze between him and Adelaide and shoved Shane's hand off. He began walking toward his tent again. "What about," he muttered as he walked.

"It's about Merle… something happened out in Atlanta," Shane started.

"He dead?" Daryl stared hard at Shane.

Shane pursed his lips, "We're not sure."

That set Daryl off, "He either is or her ain't!"

"Look, there isn't an easy way to say this, but I'll say it," Rick stepped forward.

"Who are you?" Daryl sneered viciously.

"Rick Grimes."

"Well, Rick Grimes," Daryl dangerously sounded out his name. "You got something you wanna tell me?"

Rick tried to explain the situation as best as he could to Daryl, but he just wouldn't hear it. In an instant he swung the string of squirrels on his shoulder at Rick and lunged. When he hit the ground after Shane threw him, Daryl drew a hunting knife and began swinging.

Adelaide got concerned, "Daryl! Stop!"

There wasn't anything she could say that could even reach his ears.

Shane grabbed him in a chokehold while Rick asked him to talk about it peacefully. Twice. Daryl just grunted and Shane dropped him to the side.

"Just tell him where he is so I can go get 'im," Daryl's face was hurt as he turned away.

"He'll show you where," Lori's voice broke the tension. "Won't he?"

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Lori already knew the type of person her husband was and when he confirmed it she turned back into the RV, clearly upset.

Adelaide pushed past the men towards the RV while commenting, "You all are just stupid." Yes, Merle was an important person to Daryl… '_But this all could have been solved differently_!'

She stayed inside with Lori when the men left back to Atlanta. They'd just gotten back and off they went again. Exactly where was the safety in that? The fact that so many men went off to the city made Adelaide anxious – especially about Glenn. He was the nicest guy in the camp, apart from Dale.

When the rest of the women went to the lake to wash clothes with Ed and Shane, Adelaide stayed back with Lori and tried hanging up clothes again with Lori absentmindedly trying to teach her. After dropping it and catching it midair became a cycle, Lori just laughed at her.

"You're kind of hopeless at this aren't you, Adelaide?" Lori shot her a small smile.

Adelaide just nodded, smiling a bit. Her head began to hurt, "Ugh…"

Lori put a warm hand on her forehead, "Are you okay?"

"Headache…" Adelaide furrowed her eyebrows.

"You haven't drank or ate anything since last night, have you?" Lori asked like a concerned mother bird. "Here," she helped Adelaide back to the tent. "Rest here, I'll bring you something."

Lori was like a mother of a pack or something. Adelaide chuckled at the thought or her surrounded by little ducks or something. As soon as she closed her eyes she was out cold. It was like she hadn't slept in ages or something.

When Lori returned with a bottle of water and a multigrain bar she sighed at Adelaide and left it in the tent so that she could sleep.

"It's not even noon, that girl…" Lori laughed it off and went back to the RV.

* * *

She woke to the solid slap of a rolled-up sleeping bag on her stomach.

"What the-" Adelaide curled up on her side, shoving the sleeping bag away from her.

"Get up, sleepyhead!" Andrea's voice broke through her comfortable cloud of a dream. "We're going fishing!"

"You mean," Adelaide yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "You're going fishing." She pulled her sleeping bag over her face and relished the warmth inside the insulated fabric.

Suddenly, a good hundred pounds of Amy was sprawled all over her. "No, silly! We're going fishing! You, Andrea, and I! Now get up or I'll start doing sit-ups right here!"

"No…" Adelaide groaned but didn't budge from her warm, sleeping bag toasty position.

"You asked for it!"

Amy started crunching on Adelaide's stomach, her bony hips jabbing Adelaide each time she curled. "Ugh!" Adelaide shoved Amy off, but Amy just came back until Adelaide was sitting upright.

Her hair was sprawled in all directions, and her eyes squinted at the blonde sisters in distaste.

"You guys suck."

She laced up her boots and ran after the two blondes only to jump on them in revenge for the rude awakening.

And then off to fishing they went.

It wasn't long before the girls came back with a large load of fish hanging from the hooks in their mouths. They giggle all the way back, each girl sporting a bundle of fish in a hand. They received hoots of delight as they passed by with their catch.

"How do you do that?" Carl ran up to them, gazing excitedly at the bundles of fish.

"We can teach you, if your mom doesn't mind," Amy offered up.

Lori smiled softly, "Oh, you won't find me arguing!"

"We're having a feast tonight!" Morales shouted, and the rest of the camp cheered. To the girls he said, "Thanks to you, ladies, my family will eat tonight." He shot them such a huge smile that even Adelaide couldn't help but smile back.

Dale approached from a higher area of the mountain, "I don't want to alarm anyone but… I think we may have a problem." He turned back to look at the silhouette of Jim frantically digging.

The camp members all went up to where Jim stayed focused on his task. When Adelaide looked at the ground, she saw multiple holes and freshly upturned soil.

'_He's digging graves,_' Adelaide grimly discovered.

She looked at Jim, he was sweating profusely – almost to the point where she thought he might not stand through that next turn of his shovel.

Shane approached Jim cautiously, "Hey, Jim?"

Jim didn't say a word, he slammed his shovel into the ground multiple times; each time sent shivers down Adelaide's back.

"Hey, why don't you hold up for a second, alright?" Shane said exasperatedly.

Jim pounded his shovel one last time into the ground and looked up at Shane with irritation, "What d'you want?"

"Just a little concerned man," he was sincere.

"Dale says you've been out here for hours," Morales said.

"So?" Jim asked.

"So, why you digging?" Shane asked. "You trying to dig to China or something?" He tried to joke.

"Ain't matter, I'm not hurting anyone," Jim replied and went back to digging.

Dale tried to reason with him about the temperature, that he'd collapse if he didn't take a break. But Jim didn't pay him any mind and continued his disturbing antics.

Lori stepped up, "Jim. They're not going to say it, so I will. You're scaring people." He looked up, "You're scaring my son, and Carol's daughter."

"They got nothing to be scared of," he tried to say. The group gave him looks of disbelief, "Look people, I'm out here by myself. Why don't you all just leave me the hell alone."

Adelaide couldn't take it anymore, watching him dig graves like that… It was foreboding and it scared her. "Jim, please? Can you please just take a break?" She stepped up with Shane, Lori, and Dale. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"I ain't doing anything wrong here," he snapped.

"Come on, man," Shane interrupted. "We're asking you here."

"What? Like you asked Ed?" He attacked. "Everyone's seen his face you bashed in."

Ed? Adelaide hadn't noticed that Ed wasn't around, what happened?

"See, that's what happens when someone crosses you," Jim scoffed at Shane.

"That was different, Jim," Shane said, a look passing over his face.

"You weren't there," Amy said from behind. "Ed was out of control – he was hurting his wife."

"That is their marriage! That is not his!" Jim shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Shane. "Who made you judge and jury? Who made you king-boss?"

"I'm not here to argue with you," Shane stepped forward. "Please, just give me the shovel." Adelaide was right behind Shane, looking at Jim with concern.

When Shane grabbed for the shovel, Jim backed away and pulled it away from his grasp. "Oh, no no no." And without warning he swung the shovel at Shane, but Shane ducked out of the way… But Jim did hit something.

The soiled metal smacked the side of Adelaide's head with a firm smack and sent the girl to the ground. Amy, Andrea, and Lori were at her side in a flash while Jim could only stand there in shock.

Shane took the moment to push Jim to the ground. Jim didn't say anything to Shane and let him grab his arms behind his back.

"Ugh," Adelaide groaned. She felt the side of her temple, the exact place where she had stitched up a couple of days before, and felt the stickiness of blood once again.

"Addy! Are you okay?" Amy helped her sit back up.

Adelaide felt not only the throbbing pain of a reopened wound, but the sting of a bruise forming on the side of her face. The flat face of the shovel had gotten her good.

Shane forced Jim to stand, Jim looked regretfully at Adelaide, "I'm real sorry, Adelaide… I didn't mean to…"

"Come on," Shane pushed him toward the campsite.

Lori and Andrea grabbed both her arms and pulled her back on her feet.

"That looks bad," Lori said gently touching the opened wound.

Grimacing she could image the torn flesh where the stitches had once held. "Nothing I can't manage," she said softly. "Can we get to the RV? There's a kit there…"

She began feeling slightly disorientated and lost her balance. Luckily Andrea and Lori were still holding her up. "You might have a concussion," Lori was worried. "Let's get her back."

In the RV, with Adelaide too disorientated, Dale carefully took out the torn stitches. "It's a shame," he muttered. "Her wound was almost closed up, but now it might be a bit worse than before." The edges of skin were ragged from tearing out of the stitches and Dale didn't know if he'd be able to stitch it back up alright again. "Sorry, Addy, I'm just going to have to try my best."

Adelaide just nodded slowly, "It's alright…" Her headache from before had returned with a vengeance; the shovel hadn't been much help.

Dale carefully tried to mimic her actions the first day he saw her, and with a steady hand did his best to re-stitch the wound. The bleeding stopped and he placed a piece of gauze with some antibiotic cream over the area.

Lori handed Adelaide some water, "Here, you haven't been drinking enough water lately… I'm sure that headache came back."

"Oh, it came back alright," she muttered. "Angry as hell."

"You should rest a bit," Lori suggested.

Adelaide thought about it, she wasn't sleepy or anything so perhaps she didn't have a concussion. The disorientation and unbalance was only immediately after being hit, so she should be alright. "I think I will, later… You guys go on, I'll be fine."

Amy was concerned, "Maybe I'll stay with her? Just in case?"

Dale, Andrea, and Lori were about to agree when Adelaide interjected, "No, you got better things to do that sit around with me, don't you?" She smiled as she said, "Like hanging all that laundry I couldn't even get to balance on that damn stick?"

The group laughed softly, but left her be.

* * *

By the time she woke up, it was nighttime and the fire pits were lit and surrounded by smoking fish.

She stepped out of the RV with care, making sure she didn't have another balance incident. The group noticed her and waved her over.

"Here," Carl passed her a pan with cooked fish in it as she sat down between him and Amy.

"Thanks, Carl," Adelaide smiled and took it gratefully. She noticed Jim sitting across the flame eating as well.

He looked at her apologetically, "I'm real sorry, Adelaide… I don't know what came over me…"

She held her hands up at Jim, "It's alright. I know you wouldn't have done that on purpose."

With that the group went back to enjoying the good meal, something they dearly missed.

While the flame burned, Morales gave into curiosity and asked Dale about his watch. "I see you, every day, same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass."

Dale gave the background of his watch and the significance to him. "I like what, uh, a father said to son when he gives him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me, I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it." He said it with admiration.

Adelaide smiled in the midst of chewing a piece of fish. _William Faulkner._

"You are so weird," Amy laughed.

"It's not me," Dale laughed. "Faulkner, William Faulkner."

The group looked around at each other with smiles, taking in what Dale had said.

Amy got up quietly and Andrea asked, "Where are you going?"

"I have to pee," she sighed. "Geez, trying to be discreet around here."

Everyone laughed as Amy went off to the RV.

"What's a girl gotta to do to get some privacy around here," Adelaide chuckled.

"Seems like a lot," Andrea laughed with Adelaide.

Amy swung open the RV door and yelled, "Hey, we're out of toilet paper!"

It didn't occur to anyone to turn around or say anything, they all laughed a little. Toilet paper, of all things they never even thought twice about it just a few months ago.

Suddenly she was screaming.

Adelaide and Andrea whipped around to see one of those things taking a bit out of Amy's arm. Horror over came the both of them and more walkers started emerging from all sides of the campsite.

Everything was in shambles in seconds. Screaming and yelling. Cries and snarls.

Adelaide pulled the hunting knife she kept in her boot and stood up. Shane gripped his shotgun and Morales lifted a baseball bat.

It went by so fast.

Walkers ripped into the necks of camp members and the rest of the group did their best to kill them before they got any closer.

Adelaide wasn't paying attention to her back until she heard a snarl behind her. It grabbed her hair roughly and tried to bring her closer to its mouth.

Ignoring the pain, Adelaide turned around, her hair pulling in protest, and slammed the blade into the eye of the monster. It dropped in a second, and she ripped the blade out and tried to get closer to Lori and Carl; this time she was more mindful of her 360 degrees.

In the middle of driving her knife into the eyes of walkers, she barely noticed the group of four that had left in the morning returning. But, when she did take notice she saw one of those things creeping up behind Daryl as he slammed the butt of his rifle into the skull of a walker. Immediately, she threw her knife into its skull before it could grab a hold of him.

Daryl looked behind him and then at her and, almost about to give a thankful nod, raised his rifle and shot behind her. Adelaide glanced back and noticed the downed walker.

'_I guess that means we're even._'

Their surroundings quieted albeit the sobs of the children and Andrea's cries.

Amy.

Adelaide ran toward Amy and Andrea.

It was bad.

The bite on her arm bled fast, but the rip on the side of her throat was worse. One of her arteries just pulsated blood out as Andrea tried to put pressure on it.

Amy was in so much pain, but Adelaide knew it wouldn't be too long before it was over.

"I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do," Andrea choked out, while stroking her hair. Amy could only look at her sister back with a pained look. "I'm sorry I don't know what to do…"

Adelaide could only stand there behind Andrea in dismay and watch her friend die.

She could only watch.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey guys, you may notice I switched something in the normal plot of the show, but it just seemed more fitting while I was writing. Also... This chapter may be a lot darker than most._

_Thanks for reading (: And Happy New Year!_

* * *

"Do something!" Andrea grabbed the front of Adelaide's shirt and shook her. "Do something! YOU'RE A DOCTOR! DO SOMETHING!"

Adelaide looked at Amy's dying form, her pretty blonde hair and starred shirt soaking up more and more of her blood. She was losing too much blood too fast. Adelaide already knew…

There wasn't anything that could be done. Especially with a walker bite…

It wouldn't be long after her death that Adelaide would have to watch another important person turn into one of those things… To lose their own selves and turn into a monster.

"Do something, damn it!" Andrea slapped Adelaide across the face.

It stung like hell but Adelaide couldn't react to the pain; she felt so lifeless.

"I… can't." Her head hung with shame.

Andrea's face contorted with anger, and she pushed Adelaide viciously to the ground. "You bitch."

Dale kneeled to Adelaide's side and tried to help her back onto her feet but she pushed him away and stood up on her own. Without looking back she walked briskly away from the Amy's body and Andrea's furious form. She didn't pay any attention when she slammed her shoulder into Daryl's as she walked away and into the forest.

Had it been any other day, Daryl would have cussed her off, but he saw what happened between Andrea and Adelaide.

He could only watch as she disappeared into the darkness of the forest with her head hung in shame.

* * *

What does it mean to be a doctor?

What does it mean to be a doctor when she couldn't even help her own friend? Her best friend? One of the few that were good to her when she was in one of her darkest moments? The only one who listened to her as she spoke about her father… and didn't blame one bit for his death the way she blamed herself?

What does it **mean**?

She didn't know how long she was up on that branch. Her back against the tree trunk and her legs dangling lifelessly down.

Maybe it had been a couple hours since she climbed that tree when a straggling walker noticed her legs of fresh meat swinging back and forth just one foot away from its outstretched arms.

She didn't pay it any mind.

A part of her wanted it to be able to reach her; a part of her wished the branch was just a little closed to that thing so it could take her and rip her apart. It wouldn't have been any different than the way she was ripping herself apart for being so helpless.

It grunted and snarled at her, waving its arms above its head, trying desperately to catch its meal.

Adelaide could only stared up at the top of the trees and watch for hours as the black night sky slowly dissipated into a warm honey color.

'_She must be gone by now.'_

At first, only a single tear dropped from her right eye and slid down for what seemed like forever. It trickled slowly… taking its time to remind her that she was worthless when it came to helping Amy.

She was useless.

And then it started flowing. Tears wouldn't stop coming down as she grieved for the loss of a precious person. And it went on for hours. Adelaide didn't notice how long it went on. She only knew that the tears fell from her eyes like a river until that river ran dry; nothing could come out anymore.

Adelaide only stared blankly at the bright sky, the sun blazing almost perfect above her. She was done crying, and yet not a muscle in her body could move. Only her mind could wish that the walker below just take her.

It must've been noon when something whizzed through the air and thunked deep into the trunk of her tree.

The back of her mind wondered what it was, but the rest of it just said '_Pay no mind to it, don't think about it.'_

So she just sat there lifelessly.

"What kind of dumbass sits in a tree like walker bait?" A rough Georgian accent cut through the silence. "Beginning to think that's yer natural habitat."

A little bit of her mind twitched at the sound of his familiar voice, but nothing moved.

"The hell ya doin' up there?" Daryl Dixon gazed at the motionless body of Adelaide O'Connell. He yanked his arrow from the skull of the walker that had been making grabs at her legs.

She didn't say anything.

"Get down 'ere, girl." His voice got rougher, if that was possible. "Stop yer moping. Ain't nothin' ya coulda' done."

He was close to the trunk, maybe right underneath her. She wanted to argue with him but she couldn't get her voice to come out. It was stuck. Just like she was.

"Damn it, girl," he was frustrated now, she could hear it in his voice.

But he did something she didn't expect: he climbed her tree.

He got to the her position and stared at her. She couldn't even move her head to the side to look at him; she couldn't scream at him to get away and just leave her be… She couldn't do anything.

Daryl noticed that she didn't move anything, not a single muscle. He didn't think twice and grabbed her waist to throw her over his shoulder and climbed down.

If it were the normal Adelaide, she'd scream at him to let her go, that she hated being touched by strangers, that she didn't like him since the moment she met him. He was too much of her opposite that she couldn't stand it.

He made her scared of herself.

But she couldn't do anything. She let him carry her back to camp as she dangled motionlessly from his shoulder.

When they got back, she saw the burning bodies of the walkers that had invaded their camp the night before and the pile of bodies that belonged to their camp. She also saw Andrea hovering over Amy's dead body just as devoid of motion as she was.

It wasn't true that Adelaide lost only Amy that night, but also Andrea. Andrea wouldn't forgive Adelaide for doing nothing in spite of Amy dying before their eyes. Adelaide had lost more than just one…. She lost her two best friends.

The one last tear that Adelaide held in her body streaked down her face when she realized this.

Daryl flipped her over into one of the fold-up chairs still around on campgrounds, next to the remaining people of the camp. He looked at her face and saw that single tear fall while she stared at Andrea and Amy in the distance.

He'd only gone out to get her because the group chastised him into it – something about him being the best tracker there – but now he looked at her and he wanted to comfort her. He wanted her to return to that irritating girl who jumped him for her weapons… The one who looked, as much as he'd like to deny it, so attractive when she threw that knife into the skull of that walker. Something in him just wanted her to be Adelaide O'Connell again. And he couldn't figure out why.

His thumb moved without his brain's approval and wiped that tear away from her cheek.

The second his thumb came into contact with her skin, Adelaide's eyes traveled to his and away from Andrea and Amy. She stared into his eyes, the eyes that cut through her like a knife through butter. The ones that made her regret every thought of giving up, the ones that scared her because he was a fighter and she was so weak.

Those steel-blue eyes.

"Adelaide," Dale's voice broke the tension.

Daryl moved to the side so that Dale could kneel in front of her; Adelaide's eyes followed Daryl as he moved but then focused on Dale before her.

Dale grasped both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes, "You know you couldn't have done anything. It wasn't your fault." He spoke decisively, putting force behind every word.

Adelaide's mouth moved and she forced a whisper of her voice out, "I can never do anything."

It was true to her. That was her truth. She couldn't save her father nor Amy. She could never do anything.

"You can't blame yourself for something you didn't have the ability to change," Dale said with sharpness. "You can't live like that and you know it."

'_Maybe I don't deserve to live._'

As soon as that thought passed her mind, Daryl forcefully grabbed her chin and turned her head to face him. "Ya better not be thinkin' anythin' stupid, girl. Ya gotta be strong in this world. Ya gotta toughin' up and not let the past things bother ya." His deep voice cut through her like his eyes did. Everything about him just rattled her.

Her face began to crumple in grief.

"The past has passed, you can't change it… You can't change the things that are done to you, but only the way you react to them," Dale continued from Daryl. "Come back to us, Addy."

She folded into herself and hugged her knees to her chest as she thought deeply. Amy, the kindest soul to her, was gone… She hadn't had the ability to help her, but Amy…. Would Amy have been okay with the way she was now? Amy would have wanted her to live… right? She would've wanted her to try.

Adelaide looked up at Dale's weathered face and nodded.

Dale sighed in relief.

The relief only lasted a few seconds until they all heard the soft groans and moans of a walker.

She looked at Andrea's back and the reanimated Amy. Amy was trying to scratch at Andrea, her eyes were glassy looking from Adelaide's position.

Adelaide had run out of tears to shed and could only wrap her legs tighter in her arms as she looked at the result of her incompetence.

Andrea hugged Amy and whispered soft words to her before a resounding gunshot filled the air and Amy fell limp in Andrea's arms. Andrea said nothing but continued to cradle Amy's head against her body.

It was silent until Jacqui started yelling a couple feet away, "He's bit! Jim's been bit!"

Suddenly the group was surrounding him as Jim started trying to back away, "I'm fine. I'm fine." He repeated over and over, as if it was his new mantra that could take all the demons away.

"Show it to us!" Daryl demanded.

"I'm fine," Jim continued repeating.

T-Dog snuck up and grabbed Jim from behind, holding his arms back as Daryl ran up to lift his shirt and reveal a distinct bite on Jim's stomach. Jim continued his mantra but the group could only stare at him in disdain and confusion.

Adelaide just watched them from her beach chair, her legs still tightly glued to her chest.

The group circled up as the put Jim to sit next to the RV and they tried to figure out his fate.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and be done with him," Daryl said with conviction.

"That what'd you want, if it were you?" Shane asked incredulously.

Daryl looked at him straight on, "Yeah, and I'd thank you while you do it." Adelaide set her mouth in a straight line when she heard him say that.

"I hate to say this, but Daryl may be right-" Dale tried to speak.

"Jim's not a monster, Dale. He's not some rabid dog, he's sick," Rick spat, clearly frustrated that the thought of killing Jim outright was even being flirted with.

"I'm not saying that," Dale tried to defend himself but Rick interrupted again.

"If we start thinking like that… Where do we draw the line?" Rick asked. "Where's the line?"

"The line's pretty clear," Daryl sneered. "Zero tolerance for walkers, or the bit."

"What if we can get some help?" Rick offered. He talked about the CDC and that they were formulating a cure. Shane argued that they've heard many things before the world went to hell. There was the option for Fort Benning.

While Rick and Shane argued over their next destination, Adelaide watched as Daryl glanced back at Jim with a look in his eye. '_Don't…_' She whispered inside her mind, knowing he wouldn't hear that, but hoped he had the heart to reconsider.

"Well, you go look for aspirin," he mocked them. "Do what you need to do." He started marching toward Jim with his pickaxe raised. "Someone needs to have balls to take of this damn-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jim was onto him in seconds and pointed his cocked pistol at Daryl's head. "We don't kill the living," Rick said, and meant every word. Shane stepped inbetween Jim and Shane.

Daryl lowered the pickaxe, "Funny, coming from a man with a gun to my head."

"We may disagree on some things," Shane admitted. "But not on this. You that down."

Daryl just stared at them both with distaste and hate, not wanting to relinquish his weapon.

Adelaide's voice somehow made it across the distance to him, "Daryl…" It was soft, without any cajoling or attitude towards him. Just pleading. She didn't want to watch any more bloodshed.

It was amazing how she'd broken down this much; she even surprised herself. Now she was pleading with the man she'd only days ago attacked for her belongings. She was just a weak woman, nothing special at all.

Daryl looked harshly at her, and took in her dilapidated state before slamming the pickaxe into the gravel in frustration. He walked off and didn't pay her another look afterwards.

Adelaide didn't pay him any more attention either, instead she watched as Dale sat next to Andrea and spoke to her while she smoothed Amy's hair. At first it was like he was talking to himself but she heard Andrea's soft responses. With every passing moment after Dale left her alone with Amy, Adelaide could only see the pain that Andrea felt as she apologized to her dead sister.

All the while, Adelaide could only feel the regret that pulsed through her body… Regret and self-loathing.

"AGH," that sound mixed with sobbing called Adelaide's eyes and ears. She turned to her right to watch as Carol slammed a pickaxe into her husband's, Ed's, face once. Then twice. And again and again. It was a mixture of grief and revenge at the same time.

She could only watch and feel an ache in her body for Carol. She'd heard the stories and sometimes the sounds of Ed Peletier beating his wife. Somewhere inside her dark heart she felt happy that Carol and Sophia were released, and disappointment she couldn't have watched such an evil man die a deserving death.

As some of the darkest thoughts mustered in her head, she watched the group in silence as they moved around the bodies, burning most and burying some. She couldn't bring herself to move from her seated position when everyone went to the area where Jim had been digging the day before to say goodbye to the dead. She couldn't face Andrea as they wrapped Amy's body and pulled it up onto Daryl's truck to move it to a grave.

She just sat there like Jim sat in the RV. She just sat and waited for them to return. And when they did she saw them come back, one-by-one, each more deflated in spirit than the next.

It was disheartening.

She watched in silence as Shane and Rick spoke heatedly about something before heading into the woods with Dale.

As the sun started to lower, people gathered around the unlit fire pit and sat without any words. Adelaide still sat on her beach chair, a little off from the fire pit. She barely noticed Daryl Dixon sit on a log to her left until he began sharpening a stick.

She turned her head slightly to him and watched as small shavings of wood slid off slowly.

"What are you doing?" The words came out shaky and parched, her throat dry from the hot Georgian air.

He stopped his hands and looked at her tired face, his eyes traveling from her gauzed up temple, to her small nose, over her dull green eyes, to her pale pink lips, and finally to her tear-streaked cheeks… And then he saw it, that bruise from the Jim's shovel.

It had grown since and now occupied rough two-inch diameter circle portion of her cheek. It was purple and yellow, slightly bloated and painful to look at.

His cold eyes squinted at them in irritation, something itched at him when he looked at it, "Where'd you get that?" He motioned at the bruise with the hilt of his knife.

Her hand absentmindedly went up to her cheek and lightly pressed on the area, she winced at the sting. She hadn't notice it until now.

"Had a fight with a shovel yesterday," was all she let out.

Maybe if she told him Jim had hit her, he might feel compelled to pull out his pickaxe and make another go at Jim again… Not that he had any personal reason to. '_He wouldn't do it for me… He'd just be looking for a reason to do it. Right?_' she wondered.

"Last I knew, shovels didn't just up and smack people," he commented gruffly. Clearly, he didn't believe her. "Who hit you?" His tone was monotonous, not portraying any emotional concern for her.

"None of your business."

That was it; conversation over.

Daryl's had a passing look of irritation that Adelaide didn't pick up on and soon he got up and he left.

'_Smooth sailin', Dixon. Ask too many question and now she gone up and shut up. Dumb ass._' Daryl kicked some dirt up and walked over closer to the circle of people to hear what Rick and Shane had come back to say.

"I've, uh, I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Look, uh, there are no guarantees," Shane started. "Either way I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time." He looked Rick in the eye as he spoke, "I trust his instincts."

Adelaide turned in her chair to listen a bit better and quietly take it all in.

"I say the most important thing we need is to stay together," Shane stressed. "So… For those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning."

She sighed and sunk deeper into her beach chair.

Another adventure in the morning.


End file.
